Proverbs 7

Proverbs 7Expanded Bible (EXB)

The Woman of Adultery

2 ·Obey [Guard] my commands, and you will live.Guard my ·teachings [instructions] ·as you would your own [L like the apple of your] eyes.3 ·Remind yourself of them [L Bind them on your fingers];write them on your heart as if on a tablet.4 ·Treat wisdom as a sister [L Say to Wisdom, “You are my sister”; 1:20–33; 8:1—9:6],and ·make understanding your closest friend [L call Understanding “Friend”].5 ·Wisdom and understanding [L She] will ·keep you away [guard you] from ·adultery [L the strange woman],away from the ·unfaithful wife [L foreign woman] and her ·pleasing [flattering] words.

6 Once while I was at the window of my houseI looked out through the ·shutters [lattice; curtains]7 and saw some ·foolish [simpleminded; immature; naive], young men.I noticed one of them ·had no wisdom [had no sense; L lacked heart].8 He was ·walking down [crossing] the street near the corneron the road leading to her house.9 It was the twilight of the evening;the darkness of the night was just beginning.10 Then the woman ·approached [or propositioned] him,dressed like a prostituteand ·planning to trick him [L with a guarded heart].11 She was ·loud [boisterous; noisy] and ·stubborn [defiant]and ·never stayed at [L her feet do not rest in her own] home.12 ·She was always out [L A foot] in the streets ·or in [L a foot in] the city squares,·waiting around [lurking] on the corners of the streets.13 She grabbed him and kissed him.·Without shame [L Her face was brazen as] she said to him,14 “I made my fellowship offering [Lev. 3; 7:11–21; C the offerer ate the meat of the offering].Today I have ·kept [paid back] my ·special promises [vows].15 So I have come out to meet you;I have been ·looking for you [L seeking your face] and have found you.16 I have ·covered [ornamented] my bedwith colored sheets from Egypt.17 I have ·made my bed smell sweet [L sprinkled my bed]with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.18 Come, let’s ·make [be intoxicated with] love until morning.Let’s ·enjoy each other’s [rejoice in] love.19 My husband is not home;he has gone on a ·long [faraway] trip.20 He took a ·lot of money with him [L pouch of money in his hand]and won’t be home ·for weeks [L until the new moon].”21 By her clever words she ·made him give in [seduces him];by ·her pleasing words [L the flattery of her lips] she ·led him into doing wrong [persuades/compels him].22 All at once he followed her,like an ox led to the ·butcher [slaughter],like a ·deer caught in a trap [or fool to the stocks]23 ·and shot through the liver with an arrow [until an arrow pierces his liver].Like a bird ·caught in [L hurrying to] a trap,he didn’t know ·what he did would kill him [it would cost him his life].

24 Now, my sons, listen to me;pay attention to ·what I say [L the speech of my mouth].25 Don’t ·let yourself be tricked by such a woman [L turn your heart to her paths];don’t ·go where she leads you [wander onto her paths].26 She has ·ruined many good men [L caused many corpses to fall],and many ·have died because of her [are those she has killed].27 Her house is on the ·road [path] to ·death [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld],·the road that leads down to the grave [L going down to the chambers of death].

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